Shoe last



D 1950 H. T. MLCHALS ETAL ,5 ,048

SHOE LAST Filed March 26, 1949 1 INVENTORS OSCAR N.EISENDRA ATT RNEYS HENRY T.MICHAL Patented Dec. 12, 1950 OFFICE SHOE LAST fHenry 1.IMicha-ls-land Oscar. NJEisen'drath, ;Milwaukee,- Wis.

AplilicationMatrh'QG, 1949,".Seriail No. 83,552

I Q Cla'ims.

1 This invention app'ertains to shoe lasts and more particularly-to a novel means of repairing shoe lasts whenthe same become unusable due to tack holes therein.

In the use of wood shoe lasts,-'the shoe upper is temporarily :tacked 'to the .lastg-and" upon completion of the lasting operation, the tacks are withdrawn. After continued'use of the.last,"'th'e same becomes spongy 'from'the multiplicity of tack holes and tacks will no longer take hold therein.

In the repairing of shoe lasts, it was proposed to bore straight openings in the last and insert plugs or dowels in the openings to give a new surface for the tacks. It was found, however, that upon the withdrawal of the tacks, the dowels would pull out with the tacks and that the area of repair was limited to the circumference of the dowel and that straight dowels could not be successfully used at the edges of the last.

It is therefore one of the primary objects of this invention to provide novel means for placing repair dowels or plugs in a Wood shoe last, so that the direction of pull for the removal of tacks would be at an angle to the direction of the insertion of the dowels in the last, whereby the dowels could not be pulled out with the tacks and whereby the dowels will cover an area considerably greater than their right cross section.

A further object is to provide means whereby the edges of lasts can be successfully repaired and with equal facility as points inward of their edges.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved means for repairing shoe lasts which involves the insertion of dowels in the last at an angle to the longitudinal and vertical axis of the last with the outer ends of the dowels finished flush with the sole face of the last, whereby displacement of the dowels will be prevented and whereby, substantially the entire length of the dowels can be used as repair surfaces for receiving tacks.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement and formation of parts, as will be hereinafter more specifically described, and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which drawing,

Figure 1 is a plan view of the forward part of a shoe last showing the appearance thereof after continued use.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view through the front part of the last showing the first 'step in the method of repairing the last, whichconsists in the boring or angularly disposed openings in the last at the necessary pointso'f repair, the section through the last-being taken substantially on the line 2-2 of Figure 3, looking in'the direction of the arrows.

Figure =3 isa plan viewof thefront part of the last showingthe openings made therein.

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view through the front part of thelast showing the dowels inserted therein and prior to the finishing off of the dowels.

Figure 5 is a longitudinal sectional view through the last taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 6 looking in the direction of the arrows, the view being similar to Figure 4, but showing the dowels finished oiT.

Figure 6 is a plan view of a last completely repaired in accordance with our invention.

Referring to the drawing in detail, wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views the letter L generally indicates the front or sole part of a shoe last needing repair. As clearly shown in Figure l, the last has formed therein a series of groups of tack holes ID at the customary points where the shoe upper is temporarily tacked to the last. As clearly shown in this figure new tacks are not able to take hold in these areas due to the multiplicity of holes therein.

As illustrated in Figure 2 of the drawing, the first step of our invention consists in the boring of openings H in the areas It. These openings ll are bored inwardly into the body of the last at an angle to the face of the last. These openings II in fact, extend at an angle to the longitudinal and vertical axis of the last. Hence, these openings H extend at an acute angle to the working bottom face of the last, as can be readily seen by referring to Figure 2. These openings H are bored into the last by a drill l2. The drill I2 is of a special character, as will now be described. The twisted body portion l3 of the drill is provided at its forward end with a leading axially disposed, sharpened penetrating point [4. This is necessary in view of the fact that the drill extends into the lasts at an acute angle to the face of the lasts and the sharpened point 14 gives a penetrating point for engaging the wood of the lasts to prevent the slipping of the drill.

After the openings Ii have been bored to the desired depth, hard maple dowels 15 are driven into the openings II and it is to be noted that the inner end of the dowels fit against the bottom walls of the openings. The insertion of the dowels [5 in the openings is best shown in Figure 4.

After the dowels have been driven into the openings II, the extreme outer ends thereof are cut ofi and planed down smooth and flush with the sole face of the lasts, as at IS. The face of the last can now be treated in any other manner, such as by varnishing or the like.

The completed, repaired shoe last is clearly shown in Figures 5 and 6.

Particular attention is directed to the finished last shown in Figure 6 and it can be seen that upon the cutting off and smoothing of the outer ends of the dowels, elliptical shaped dowel ends are provided. Hence this elliptical shape of the dowels gives a greater area for receiving tacks than the ordinary diameter or circumference of the dowels. In fact the dowels extending into the body of the last at an acute angle underlie the major portion of the group of tack holes, and hence tacks can be driven into the last and into the portions of the dowels extending under the sole face of the last.

Obviously, when tacks are pulled from the last, said pull will be in a direction away from the angle of the insertion of the dowels and hence accidental removal of the dowels from the last is prevented.

Particular attention is called to the toe end of the last. In view of the angle of the ins'er tion of the dowels into the last body, the dowels can be placed in the last from the edges thereof and thus the edges of the last can also be readily repaired.

Changes in details may be made without departing from the spirit or the scope of this invention, but what weclaimas new is:

1. A shoe last having a sole face and repair plugs disposed in said body at an acute angle to said body, the outer ends of said dowels being smooth and flush with said sole face and defining elliptical repair surfaces.

2. A shoe last having a sole face and repair plugs disposed in said body at an acute angle to said body, the outer ends of said dowels being smooth and fiush with said sole face and defining elliptical repair surfaces, the body portions of said dowels extending under the sole face.

HENRY T. MICHALS. OSCAR N. EISENDRATH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS McNichol July 3, 1923 

